


Stranger Siblings

by Northern_Lady



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abuse, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Protective Siblings, Short One Shot, Step-siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 02:30:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18983377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Neil Hargrove very nearly hits Max and Billy steps in to stop it. Or a short story on why Billy is the way he is.





	1. Chapter 1

Max was late getting home. All the lights were off in the house though so she was almost sure that no one would notice how late she was. She leaned her bike against the house, straightened out her short denim skirt and creeped quietly up the steps. She closed the door behind her, crossed the dark room past Billy’s weights and had nearly made it to her room when a light switched on in her parents room. She didn’t have time to make a run for it. The door opened and Neil switched on the light over her head. He stood there, arms crossed, looking entirely displeased. 

“You’re late,” he said, glaring at her. 

“A little. I’m sorry,” she said, not sounding genuinely sorry. 

He crossed the room and looked her over walking all the way around her and stopping in front of her again. “What made you think it was appropriate to go out like that in the first place?” 

“Like what?” Max had no idea what he was talking about. 

“The lipstick and the short skirt sends a message…” he said and he sounded menacing like he sometimes did before he hit Billy. 

“”Where’s my mom?” Max asked, wondering why her mom wasn’t up worrying why she was home late. 

“There was a phone call today from California. Your grandmother is in the hospital. Your mom is on a plane to go take care of her for a few days. And while she’s gone it’s time for you to learn a few rules. You can start by wiping that paint off your face.” 

Max didn’t move to obey him like he wanted. Obedience like that wasn’t in her nature. Instead she just stood there glaring at him like his request was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. She didn’t expect him to grab her by the hair and slam her against the wall and when he did she certainly didn’t expect Billy to come out of his room and come to her defense. 

Billy acted quickly, throwing open the door to his room, grabbing a heavy clay vase from the top of a shelf and hitting his father over the head. Neil fell to the floor from the blow and made an attempt at getting back up before Billy punched him in the face. 

“What the hell?” Neil muttered from where he lay on the floor. 

“You wanna beat the shit out of me when I’m out of line, go ahead, but not her. I’m not letting you hurt Max. Not ever.” 

Max just stood there, too stunned to move. Neil was starting to get up. Billy grabbed her arm and pulled her away from her stepfather and made sure she was behind him. 

“This is still my house and I make the rules around here,” Neil said, rubbing the bruised place on his jaw. 

“Make all the rules you want,” Billy said, still blocking Neil’s path to Max. “Go to your room Max. Go!” 

Max ran to her room and locked the door behind her. She heard the commotion of their fight for a good ten minutes. It mostly involved Neil yelling at Billy about respect and responsibility and punching him around as usual. After a while her stepfather’s door slammed shut and Max heard the squeaky hinge of Billy’s bedroom door when he returned to his room. Curiosity wouldn’t allow her to stay in her room. Max went out of her room and stood in the open doorway of her stepbrother’s room. He sat on his bed shirtless with a tied up bandanna full of ice on his lip and clear signs of bruising on his ribs. 

“What the hell just happened?” Max said. 

“I told you we’re family now. Did you think I was lying?” 

“Yeah,” she said, hardly able to believe any of this. “Yeah, I thought you were lying. You’re not even nice to me most of them time. You just try to control my life and scare off my friends. I don’t get it…” 

For a moment Billy actually looked sad at what she had just said. “And you thought I did that just because I’m an asshole?” 

“Is there another reason?” 

He dabbed at the blood on his lip with a washcloth, then he glanced in her direction. “It’s complicated.” 

“It’s complicated? I think you owe me a better explanation than that.” 

“I just got beat up defending you. I don’t owe you anything,” he argued, melting ice from the ice pack he had tried to make was dripping down his arm. 

“Let me get you something for that stupid ice,” she said, rolling her eyes as she turned towards the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a gallon size ziplock bag, took the bandana away from him and dumped the ice into the plastic bag. 

“Thanks,” he said when she passed the bag back to him. “Usually I have to deal with this all on my own.” 

Max felt herself fill with guilt over that statement. He was right. Neil had beat up Billy multiple times since their parents had gotten married and each time he had gone off to his room alone to deal with his injuries. If Max had so much as a splinter her mom was there to give her a bandaid but no one helped Billy after his Dad beat him up. That had to be horrible, never knowing when his Dad was gonna hit him and knowing that when the time came he’d have to face it alone. 

“Not anymore,” she told him. “I’ll help you with this stuff if you promise you’re gonna be nice to me after this.” 

“Seriously? I’ve been nice to you since that night with Harrington, haven’t I?” 

“Nicer maybe, but you still make comments about my clothes and my friends and where I chose to spend my time.” 

“You mean like the places you went tonight or the clothes you wore there? Yeah, I did try to stop you from that because I knew what my Dad would think, and it looks like I was right.” he told her with irritation. 

“So you’re trying to say that all this bullshit I have to put up with from you is because you’re trying to protect me from your Dad?” she asked, hardly able to believe it. 

His eyes softened at the question. “Max...I think you look great tonight. The outfit is awesome. The lipstick is a good color on you. The party at Holly’s house was probably a really cool party, but I knew that you going there might mean my Dad would flip. He told me months ago that one of these days you’d have to learn discipline. I couldn't let that happen.” 

Max didn’t know why she started to cry. It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t even like Billy. And yet she couldn’t deny the possibility that he was telling her the truth. 

“Why would you protect me? You don’t even like me.” 

“At first I didn’t,” he admitted. “But look at you Max, you skateboard, you play arcade games, you’re tougher than most of the boys your age, you’re smart, and you’re beautiful. Why would I dislike a sister like that?” 

Max could no longer hide that she was crying in earnest. She went to Billy’s dresser, grabbed a t-shirt and threw it at him. “Put this on,” she said. 

Confused, he put it on like she had asked. “Why do I need this?” 

“Because I’m not gonna hug you without a shirt on,” she said and she crossed the room and hugged him. 

Billy dropped his bag of ice to the floor and hugged Max with both arms. After a moment she tried to pull away from him and he didn’t let her go. She felt something wet on her neck and realized Billy was crying. Of course he was crying. He probably hadn’t had a hug in years except from a random girl here and there. How long had it been since someone had cared? Max stayed with her stepbrother long enough that he was able to hide his tears when he let her go. 

“Goodnight Billy,” she told him. 

“Goodnight Max,” he said. 

Max went back to her room and shut the door feeling a little overwhelmed with all that had happened that night. Changes were coming to her life. She could see that now. She didn’t expect this meant that Billy would suddenly be a nice guy or would stop being a jerk to Steve Harrington or that he wouldn’t still have a bad temper. No, people didn’t change that easily but it helped to make sense of his motivations. And it helped to know that in some weird way he was on her side after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know I tagged this a short one shot but then I kinda just kept writing.

The gang was leaving the arcade and heard Billy’s car pulling up before they saw it. The engine was loud and the rock music was louder. Billy sped to a stop right outside the arcade and Max was tempted to just keep walking and ignore him like she had always done if he showed up early to pick her up. But for four days he had had managed to avoid saying anything mean to her. He hadn’t spoken to her much at all actually but that had been far better than the way he used to treat her. 

“Hey Max!” He called out from his car window. 

She rolled her eyes and broke away from the group to go to his window. She knew they were watching warily and she tried not to let their concern get to her. “I still have twenty minutes. You said 6:30,” she reminded him and she turned and walked away. 

Max heard the car door open and saw Lucas eyes get big as Billy approached them. 

“I’m not here to pick you up. I’m here to tell you not to come home,” Billy told her as he reached the group. 

She spun to face him. “What? Why?” 

He looked uncomfortable with the question. “I’ll tell Dad you’re with Jane for the night. Turns out your grandma is still sick and your mom is gonna be gone another week. It’s better if you’re not there tonight.” 

“Billy wait!” She called after him when he turned to leave. He didn’t look back so she ran after him. “Why is it better? What’s going on?” 

“Dad went through your stuff. He found cigarettes. He’s pissed.” 

“Holly gave them to me. I only smoked one,” she protested. 

“It won’t matter. You need to stay away until he has calmed down. And you need to stop doing stupid shit like bring cigarettes home.” He said, angry. 

“I’m sorry,” and she truly was now that she understood what it meant. It meant that Billy was going to have to face the brunt of his father’s anger. 

“You should be.” Billy sounded hurt. 

Max bit her lip and turned to rejoin her friends. Then she stopped and turned back to Billy. “Maybe you shouldn’t go home either.” 

“Someone has to. Besides, where would I go?” 

“You can come to my house,” Jane spoke up. 

“And hang out with my sister and her friend and the sheriff?” He sounded skeptical. 

“It’s better than going home and getting beaten up isn’t it?” Max pointed out. 

“All that will do is put it off until tomorrow. I might as well face up to it.” And Billy climbed into his car, slammed the door shut, and sped away with music blasting as usual. 

“What was that all about?” Dustin asked. “He’s leaving you here instead of giving you a ride home?” 

“He’s trying to protect me, believe it or not.” 

“Well, I don’t believe it,” Lucas said. 

“Look, I know Billy can be an asshole sometimes, okay maybe even most of the time,” Max admitted. “And that night that he attacked Lucas was a dick move. I am still mad at him about that but it wasn’t happening for the reasons you think it did.” 

“So it wasn’t because Billy is a racist jerk?” Lucas asked. 

“A jerk yes. It’s my stepdad who is racist,” Max told them. “In his own messed up way Billy was trying to keep his Dad from punishing me for having friends he didn’t approve of, and I think that night he just kinda snapped cause a lot of bad shit went down at home.” 

“That’s stupid to take it all out on Lucas,” Mike said. 

Max nodded. “Yeah. I never said Billy was smart but he isn’t exactly evil either.” 

“If you say so…” Lucas said, “but I am gonna stay home if he’s coming over, just for my own safety.” 

“Safety…” Max muttered the word. “I gotta get home somehow! Mike, can I borrow your bike?” 

“You can’t go home. Your stepdad is mad at you,” Lucas argued. 

“Yeah, And Billy is gonna get beaten up. I made a promise that If he is gonna protect me from his Dad and be nice to me from now on that I’ll help him with all his injuries and not make him face it alone anymore. I have to get home. Mike can I please borrow your bike? You can call Nancy to pick you up. I will bring the bike to school tomorrow.” 

“Okay…” Mike agreed reluctantly. 

Max took off on the bike and headed for home. It took nearly forty minutes to get there. By the time she did the lights were on in Neil’s bedroom and there was music blasting from Billy’s bedroom but no lights. Max knew she couldn’t go in through the front door. She wasn’t supposed to be home. She was supposed to be with Jane and Billy would only get into more trouble for letting her bike home in the dark. Max went to Billy’s window and was about to knock when she heard the sound of Billy sobbing. She wondered if that’s why he kept his music so loud sometimes, just so know one would know. She rapped lightly on the window three times, waited and then knocked another three times. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” He asked as he pulled the window open. His hair was a mess, his face was bruised and there was blood on his eyebrow. 

“I came to make sure you have a proper ice pack this time.” 

“Really?” He looked surprised and then overwhelmed. He reached a hand out the window. “Climb in here then.” 

Billy pulled her in the window and she immediately set to work with the first aid kit on his desk. Once his eyebrow was bandaged and the ice pack was in place she sat down next to him on the bed. 

“I’m sorry,” she told him sadly. “I’m sorry I didn’t throw out the cigarettes that Holly gave me and you got blamed for it.” 

Billy only nodded and he reached over and took her hand and held onto it tightly. 

“I told Dad you were at Jane’s. He isn’t gonna be happy to find you at home when that’s not where I said you’d be.” 

“I’ll sleep on the floor and leave before he wakes up.” 

Billy crossed the room and opened his closet and pulled down a sleeping bag from the overhead shelf. Max soon found herself on the floor in a sleeping bag that smelled faintly of Billy’s cologne. 

“Did you ever wash this thing since you last used it?” She asked him, her nose wrinkled. 

“I wasn’t planning on sharing it,” he commented. 

“I bet you weren’t,” Max muttered. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Only that there’s always some girlfriend…” 

Billy reached over and switched off his music. The room fell into momentary silence. “There’s not. I had two girlfriends in California. None here.”

“So what’s with all the girls who hang around you all the time?” She asked him, annoyed. 

“They don’t hang around for long.” 

Max could guess why. It was probably because even the dumb high school girls were smart enough to figure out that Billy was a jerk half the time. 

“No smart remarks from you about that?” Billy asked when she failed to reply. 

“I don’t see the point,” Max said honestly. 

“You’re probably right. There’s not much hope for me.” 

“That’s not what I said. I actually didn’t say anything at all.” Max argued. 

“But if you had made your smart remark, what was it gonna be?” 

“You promise me you’re not gonna get mad if I tell you?” 

“I promise. Scouts honor.” He said. 

“Maybe...maybe those girls don’t hang around for long because they figure out that...that you’re not very nice.” 

The room fell silent after that. Billy didn’t argue with her words. He didn’t say anything at all. 

Max woke the next morning to the weight of clean laundry being dropped on top of her sleeping bag. 

“I got you clothes from your room. Get dressed, I’ll be back in a minute,” Billy said. 

Max dressed quickly and by the time she was done Billy had returned with two warm toasted pop tarts and a glass of orange juice. He passed them to her. 

“This is for me?” She asked, not expecting that he would think about her needing breakfast at all. 

“Yeah, that being nice thing, I thought I might give it a try.” 

Max ate quickly while Billy rolled up the sleeping bag and moved Max’s dirty clothes to the hamper. He opened the window and lowered her to the ground. 

“Thanks for the pop tarts,” Max said as her feet touched the ground. 

“No problem, and Max, thanks for coming back last night, but don’t do it next time. It’s not safe.” 

“Sometimes the most important things aren’t. Doesn’t mean they aren’t worth it,” Max said and she didn’t wait for him to reply. She jumped on the bike and she rode away without looking back.


End file.
